Assaulted MEP hits out over EU parliament's 'silence'

Parliament’s bosses have been condemned for ‘failing’ to speak out in the wake of an allegedly vicious assault by Bulgarian police on one of the country’s MEPs.

Dimitar Stoyanov claims police inflicted nearly 40 wounds on him after he was attacked in a police car and cell in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, in July.

He was detained after taking part in a demonstration in the city in support of anti-government protesters.

He says he is “dismayed” that parliament’s hierarchy are yet to respond to the incident.

He told a news conference in parliament on Wednesday, “I have personally spoken to the president of parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, informing him what happened to me but have yet to receive any sort of response.

“The Bulgarian police kicked, punched and abused me in what was a totally unprovoked attack yet nothing is done or said about it. It is astonishing.

“This act of police outrage took place in the centre of Sofia in front of tens of witnesses,” said the non-attached member.

“The very least I would have expected is that parliament might have asked the Bulgarian authorities for an explanation but it has not even done that.”

Stoyanov, grandson of the famous Bulgarian writer and dissident Radoy Ralin, is a member of parliament’s regional development committee.

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